Traditional board games such as chess and checkers have been around for over a thousand years and are well known in the art. Numerous retail versions are still being sold, yet a vast majority of these retail versions contain boards no larger than 20 square inches and small playing pieces that require fine fingertip to thumb coordination. Furthermore, most of this prior art contains cardboard boards used on table tops where the board sits horizontally and the game pieces are susceptible to unintentional movement. For the general public, these traditional styles of board games are sufficient, but for the handicapped users, these games become too challenging to play and to maneuver.
Many inventions such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,431,548, 5,727,787, 5478,085 and 4,275,887 deviate from the standard cardboard board games by utilizing magnets both in the playing piece and the board itself. Although this deviation prevents the pieces from being moved unintentionally, the playing pieces remain unaltered and the game boards remain diminutive in size. In fact, many inventions such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,293,550, 5,228,699, 5,016,888, 5,005,841, 4,861,039 and 4,299,389 teach toward magnetic board games that are unique due to their smaller sizes and ability to be used during travel. None of the prior art teaches of a board game designed for handicapped players with limited coordination or mobility and in fact the prior art teaches away from such novelty.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,503,400 and 5,040,800 teach of vertical chess boards utilizing magnets. Although these board games provide better visibility for overseers, they are not designed for handicapped users. Their playing pieces remain small and the size of the boards is unchangeable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,073 teaches of a magnetized dry erase board that may be a good starting point for a board large enough for handicapped users to access but this invention fails to address board games in general.
Although the above prior art may fulfill most of its desired intentions, a need still exists for board games that allow a large vertical playing surface. Further need exists for a system where the playing pieces are larger but can still be attached to a vertical board with ease. And need exists for the playing pieces to be multifunctional and for the game board to be exchangeable and positioned at varying heights and angles. In summary there is a great need for a flexible alternative to provide therapeutic stimulation to impaired or handicapped individuals by allowing them to play simple board, card and domino games in an environment that is better suited for those individuals.